II. Two Can Keep a Secret, If One of Them is Dead
I had not befriended Nadia. But I believed, on some level, she had befriended me.
Although she never approached me outside of seventh period, she continued to chatter with me whenever the opportunity arose during our shared class over the following weeks. Anyone else and I would have drawn up a boundary line a mile wide, but her silent mind combined with her odd words served to continually draw my interest.
It was certainly a way to break up the monotony.
Today, I encountered another one of her odd statements after Eric Yorkie, a boy who sat in the desk directly in front of her, once again failed in his attempt to gain her affections.
The conversation went something like this:
"They started filming the new Star Wars episode this summer. Can you believe we have to wait nearly two more years for the release?"
"Revenge of the Sith, right? I was always more of a Clone Wars fan myself."
"…You mean Attack of the Clones?"
"No."
Eric's confused thoughts were easily visible on his face as he reluctantly turned back around once Mrs. Goff called the class to order in her accented Spanish. Though I was no expert in regards to that particular franchise, I had no doubt that Eric's confusion was justified, seeing as there was no such movie.
Beside me, Nadia glanced in my direction and murmured, "That's weird. It's supposed to be Katie that he likes, not me."
And the things Nadia found strange were usually at odds with my own conclusions.
"He has hardly given her a second glance," I offered, mentally adding, or a second thought. Not when Eric's eyes were consistently drawn towards Nadia, even when Katie stood at her side (which was about ninety percent of the time.)
"Huh."
Once we received the worksheets Mrs. Goff had assigned us to complete for the hour, I paused, awaiting her interruption. Despite her competency in the subject, Nadia always had a question or two lined up for me. As desk neighbors Mrs. Goff expected us to help one another out, so I had long given up on directing her towards our teacher.
But the silence between us stretched.
When I peeked at Nadia from my peripherals, I found her worksheet remained abandoned on her desk. Instead, the majority of her profile was concealed behind the curve of her hand and fingers, cheek resting against her palm as she gazed out the window to our left. The pane of glass didn't offer much of a view, raindrops steadily clinking and sliding across it, blurring the lush of greenery encroaching the school campus.
By now, I had learned to ignore the swell of irritation that accompanied my inability to read her thoughts. So, I turned away, pretending I was not bothered by her inattention.
Once the final bell rang, I filled in the name slot across the top of the page and dropped off the worksheet at Mrs. Goff's desk before heading out. Despite doing as I knew I should, I could not help but wonder about her unusual silence.
As the days elapsed, Nadia's uncharacteristically quiet nature persisted. Her distracted expressions became the norm, and my curiosity mounted greatly in response.
"Is the no-thoughts girl still ignoring you?" Emmett needled me on one such day, during our lunch break.
"She is not ignoring me," I muttered without bothering to glance in his direction, instead studying the cracks in the plaster above his head. "And my lack of ability to read her mind does not render her thoughtless."
Could've fooled me, he mentally snickered, but dropped it.
At the mention of her, Alice switched from mapping out the patterns of tonight's thunderstorm, to peeking into Nadia's immediate future. And then, an alarming scene unfolded across her mind―two girls I recognized from my sophomore class were cornering Nadia by her locker, the corridor around them entirely deserted.
The vision abruptly stuttered and blurred with uncertainty as I pushed away from the table and strode across the cafeteria before I was even fully aware of my own actions.
Her locker is in building 2, in the same hall as Mr. Banner's classroom, Alice thought.
By then, I had already crossed through the cafeteria doors and made note to thank her later.
Outside, I slowed my gait and cursed my rashness. I should have waited for the entirety of Alice's vision to play out. How could I be so positive that those girls were intent on hurting her? Perhaps, they shared a class together, or they had a common interest with Nadia. I had acted impulsively for no discernible reason.
When I arrived, Nadia stood alone in the short hallway, picking through the art supplies neatly organized on the shelf of her locker. I hesitated, examining the thick curtain of braids resting against her oversized jean jacket, the graphite smudges along her fingertips, the small beauty mark visible on the right side of her chin, the way her long, curly lashes brushed against her dark cheeks whenever she glanced down. I allowed myself to observe her in the way I never allowed myself to do so in class for fear that she would recognize my creepy obsession with her.
And before I could decide on whether to approach her or not, she glanced up and caught sight of me. "Edward." She smiled.
Knowing it would be rude to do otherwise, I crossed the hall towards Nadia in a few, short strides and paused awkwardly at her side, gazing down at her with what I hoped was a composed expression. "Hello, Nadia."
"Hi. I'm surprised to see you here." Her full lips widened into a grin. "Not that I'm complaining. Perhaps you'll offer to do my math homework as well?"
I dragged a hand through my hair, unable to keep the bashfulness from my tone as I said, "You noticed."
"It was hard not to when Mrs. Goff kept complimenting me on my improved vocabulary," she said with a quiet laugh. "It's really sweet, but unnecessary. My grades are the least of my worries."
"Then what are your worries?"
It was a relief to finally be able to voice the question out loud. My intense desire to understand the workings of her mind had been gnawing at me all week. Nadia was not just a silent mind, she was a stranger to her best friend, with a distorted perception of the world, and sometimes, when she gazed at me, it was like she expected something of me. What that expectation was, I hadn't the slightest clue.
"Edward," she said, in that soft, soothing voice of hers that always managed to capture my attention, even when it wasn't directed at me. "Do you believe in the supernatural?"
My lips twitched.
But then, my answer was interrupted by the squeak of wet rain boots against the linoleum floors. I peeked over my shoulder and found, at the end of the hall, the pair of girls from Alice's vision―Lauren Mallory and Jessica Stanley.
I scoured the surface of their minds and found the intent behind their search for Nadia.
They had questions. They had discovered through rumors that Nadia was one of the few students I spoke with on a regular basis, seeing as she was my partner for Spanish. And in their endeavor to attain the smallest morsel of gossip on the elusive Cullen family, they intended to interrogate her, the fact that I had rejected Jessica's advances a few weeks prior hardly serving to deter either one of them.
The perceived malice behind their actions against Nadia in Alice's vision had been a mere figment of my overactive imagination.
I turned back to Nadia. "Would you care to join me in the library?"
Her silvery eyes shimmered with something that looked like hope. "I'd be delighted."
Although the library was sparsely filled, I lead Nadia to an uninhabited corner behind a few bookshelves, where we sat across from each other in one of the smaller study tables.
"The supernatural," I repeated her previous words in a low tone, without directly answering her question. "Although it is beyond scientific understanding, am I correct in assuming that you've experienced it?" I would have to tread carefully. My curiosity would not be the thing that exposed my family.
Her eyes lit up like the shards of a sapphire. "Something like that," she admitted quietly. "Can you keep a secret?"
I smirked. "I'm certain I can."
"Tell me what you know already," she said, "and I'll fill in the blanks."
I frowned marginally. She was more perceptive than I had given her credit for, if she had noticed I'd been paying an ounce of attention.
"Very well," I agreed, mentally checking off the things that wouldn't endanger my nature. Fortunately, it was a small town and there were mostly no secrets; I could attribute most of my knowledge to the rumor mill. "You are strangely forgetful. Mainly of your past with Katie and your other classmates. You make odd statements―like when you speak of things that don't exist to anyone else, or when you were sure that Eric was supposed to like Katie instead of yourself. And your character is different. Not that I would personally know, but some of our classmates have noticed that you act differently than what they have come to expect of you." I was tempted to point out her eyes, but I knew human eyesight would be unable to discern the difference between the naked eye and the scratchy lenses of eye contacts.
Nadia did not appear shocked by any of my observations. "And your verdict?"
"…You have either suffered memory loss, or…you are not Nadia Swan."
It was a sinister conclusion, but it was the only one I could reach based on the mounting evidence. Unfortunately, it was all circumstantial; nothing concrete that would offer definitive answers.
"Not exactly." She smiled softly. "I am Nadia. But I wasn't always Nadia Swan. Not until a few weeks ago."
My eyebrows arched in disbelief. "To our classmates, you have existed since preschool."
She shrugged. "Probably. I have no memory of that."
I inadvertently leaned closer. "What do you have memories of?"
The light of her eyes unexpectedly dimmed. "A different life. I was being silly when I made that wish―to have a different life. And then it came true."
I furrowed my brow as I recalled her strange words from the first day we'd met. "…When you used that crystal?"
"Yes, exactly. One second, it was in the palm of my hand, and in the next, it was gone." She shrugged and laughed sheepishly. "I thought I was hallucinating, but then I woke up here. Sometimes, I think I am still hallucinating."
"…Is that why you've been so quiet this past week?"
"Not really." Nadia shook her head and fiddled with the ends of her braids. "I figure, as long as I'm here, hallucination or not, I might as well enjoy it."
"What's been going on in your head then…if you don't mind me asking."
Her dark red lips pursed in thought. "…I guess, I've been wondering if I should pursue what I want. I've already gained so much―parents, friends, peace. Is it selfish of me to jeopardize all that when there could be more?"
I eyed her thoughtfully and said, "No, not necessarily. You'll grow up and you'll become your own person. That's what parents and friends are for―not to limit you, but to support you and encourage you. If I may ask, what is it that you want?"
"That, I can't confess," she said, face warming. "I'm not totally sure it's even possible. Only time will tell."
I became frustrated once more in the face of her cryptic words.
"But," she added, "you've really helped me. Thank you, Edward. Will you keep my secret?"
I calculated and deduced the likelihood that my family had been eavesdropping. Picking up on their thoughts now, it appeared doubtful.
"I will," I promised.
A/N: Here is another pre-written chapter. Apparently, I also have 2k written for chapter three, but idk when I'll get around to finishing it. Anywho, I hope you guys enjoyed the update!
